


Copper and Pastels

by Erratic_Daydreamer



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossdressing, Fighting, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Piercings, Polyamory, Tattoos, Threesome - M/M/M, rated for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-02-27 09:13:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2687306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erratic_Daydreamer/pseuds/Erratic_Daydreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and Jean have lived their lives drenched in copper, making spare cash at an illegal fighting ring since they were teenagers. Armin has lived with the deck of tragedies life gave him and is struggling to live a life for himself in a world that continues to knock him down. When the stubborn fighters meet the little blonde dressed in pastels who smiles even at his worst, their worlds change drastically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because I obviously don't have enough stories to keep up with or ideas I keep swearing that I'll do, here's another chapter fic. This first chapter mainly follows Jean and his thoughts and chances are the rest will follow Armin because he's my baby. Of course, this chapter moves a little quickly to set the ground work for the others. As always, comments, likes, kudos and asks are appreciated more than I can ever explain or express, so if you have a little time, PLEASE leave me some feedback. Other than that, I hope you enjoy and have a beautiful day~ ^^

It had become a routine for them, each teetering where they stood, refusing to give in to the other. Eren and Jean squared off in the middle of a screaming crowd, their breath coming out as heavy pants. Any day they fought in the ring, there was an increased turn out and betting and, despite constant scolding from their friends, neither called surrender until they were unconscious. They were probably the most even matched duo in the entire circuit, which led to a constant uncertainty as to who would win or lose, much to the joy of the onlookers. Jean was tall and made up of well built, lean muscle. Eren, on the other hand, was slightly shorter, but like his sister, his muscles were slightly more bulky than Jean’s. Both men were twenty three and riddled with scars, some more apparent than others, from their years in the fighting ring.

“Just fucking fall.” Jean hissed from between his teeth, the words almost completely taken away by the screams of the crowd. Eren scoffed and spit at him in response, the saliva mixed with blood that had built up in his mouth throughout the fight. “And let you win? Yeah right, horse face, why don’t you just call surrender and go back to your boyfriend? I’m surprised you pulled yourself away from his freckled ass for long enough to come here.” “Marco isn’t my boyfriend, dumbass, but Mikasa is sure looking fine today. I bet after watching me beat your ass all these years she’d bend over for me in a heartbeat.” With that, they were back on each other, Eren having dropped his head down in an attempt to ram his shoulder into Jean’s stomach.

The two brawled in the dirt of the arena, neither holding back the force of their punches, though they were made significantly weaker when both men were exhausted. Finally, with one well aimed punch, Jean had Eren’s head lolling back in the dirt and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. The first time Jean had knocked Eren out, he remembered being horrified that he had seriously injured, only to be faced with the wild brunette more worked up than ever when they met again. It had become almost unique to them, fighting until one couldn’t only to go back at each other as hard as possible the next time. Neither of them held a real resentment for the other, they were just two hard heads who were overly competitive and happened to find _just_ the right person to get on their nerves.

Jean swayed when he stood, dizzy and struggling to focus, but Marco was there with one arm wrapped around his shoulder. He remembered the first time his best friend found out about his fighting habit. It was a good way to blow off steam and to make a ton of cash, but Marco had been completely enraged. However, as the years went on, his too-good-for-him friend followed him, patched him up after every fight, though the lectures never ceased. Out of the corner of his eye, Jean registered Mikasa hauling Eren up over one of her shoulders, presumably to take the stubborn idiot home and give him a lecture of his own.

“You know, you and Eren are more alike than you’d probably like to admit. Maybe you should just quit fighting him and start to get along. Then I wouldn’t be stuck patching you up constantly. You’re aware this is still completely illegal, right?” Marco started once they got to Jean’s apartment, tossing an ice pack at his head and grabbing the medical kit Jean kept in the living room now. “Like I’d ever get along with that prick. Besides, we can’t all be fancy psychologists, Mister Bodt. My job pays well enough, but I could always use some extra cash. How much did I make tonight anyway?” Marco scoffed at the question, tossing an envelope with cash onto his table before settling down next to his friend and tilting his head up roughly. “More than you deserve. Now sit still, this is going to hurt.”

Jean whimpered and whined while Marco treated his cuts, something he would deny should anyone lay witness to it. Finally, the freckled man released him and sat back. “It’s a miracle you got hired in the first place; you still look like some teenage punk with all these scars and shit.” He said, tugging on the studs decorating Jean’s ears to indicate that _those_ were the shit he was talking about. “Seriously, how has no one ripped them out when you were fighting before?” Sticking his tongue out at Marco to reveal the small ball in the middle of it, Jean snickered. “Because they know I’d bash them if they tried. Besides, I get hired because I’m good at what I do. The world is changing, not everyone is so judgmental over a few little pieces of metal.”

“ _And_ that ink all over your skin.” Marco accused, smacking Jean lightly on the shoulder, though his voice was more amused than anything. “Hey, you’ve got your fair share of tattoos as well, don’t fucking try to deny it.” Shoving back at Marco, Jean laughed out the words, then pursed his lips and made childish kissing noises at his friend. “C’mon Mar, you know you _looove_ me.” Rolling his eyes, Marco shoved the brunette back onto the couch and stood, laughing and shaking his head. “No way, man. It’s late and I don’t feel like driving all the way back to my apartment, I’m sleeping here tonight and _you_ can sleep on the couch to think about what you’ve done. Don’t forget to feed Kia and let her in before you go to sleep.”

Despite Jean’s protests, Marco slipped away and the brunette found himself stomping to his yard section and whistling for Kia, his Yorkshire terrier. When the little ball of energy flew inside, Jean couldn’t help but laugh and scoop up his dog, burying his face into her fur. “You’ll sleep with me, right Kia? _You_ love me.” Several licks to his scrunched up face later, the tiny animal jumped from his arms and stood impatiently by her food bowl. “Right. As long as I feed you, you love me.” He muttered, quickly feeding his pet and leaving her to finish while he passed out half on, half off of his couch.

A week later, Jean found himself wishing for his own death among a group of screaming children. His family had always been huge and Jean accused his parents for not being able to keep it in their pants. He had hoped that when he moved out it would be a chance for some peace and quiet, a chance to get away from the pack. While he managed the quiet, his family only used it as an excuse to come visit as frequently as possible. The fighter was sat inside a pink and yellow, mom-and-pop type ice cream parlor, staring blankly at the mess of melted ice cream on their table. “Jean, you could at least try to look a little more enthusiastic to see us! We hardly get to talk to you anymore now that you live so far away.” His mother yelled above the kids, wrapping her arm around her eldest son’s shoulder.

“Mom, if you haven’t noticed, we can’t really talk much here anyway. Besides, I only live ten miles away, it is literally impossible to find an apartment closer to the house than that.” He spoke, trying to keep his voice monotone, but failing horribly. He had always been a self confessed mama’s boy. “You know your father and I wouldn’t mind you moving back in.” He paled at the words while his mother continued speaking. “We worry about you, lovely boy. You’re always bruised up. People aren’t still starting fights with you, are they? I would think you were past that age by now.” She said, stroking her fingers over one of the more prominent bruises on Jean’s cheek. “Mom, everything’s fine, I promise. I like my apartment and I still see you all the time, you really don’t have to worry anymore.” “You know they’re _way_ too protective of us, Jean, _always too protective.”_ One of his younger sisters snapped in, looking up from her phone to glare at their mother. “Estelle, you still can’t go.” Jean couldn’t help but grin when she took on her strict voice, leveling the teenager with steely eyes.

They must have been making a mess of the store for an hour by the time his parents had all the kids packed away in the car. “Alright, you’re still meeting us for dinner in a few hours, right? Oh and if you could, go ask for a gallon of vanilla ice cream from this place, we’re going to make sundaes for dessert.” Jean’s father asked him, holding out a twenty dollar bill, which Jean waved off. “Yeah, yeah, I don’t need your money pops. Just tell the terrors to leave Kia alone if you’re going to come over after.”

Quick goodbyes were given and Jean found himself ordering, only to hear quiet snickers from behind him _again._ He had ignored them at first, assuming he was in front of two teenagers or something, but they had continued every time the line moved up. Glancing behind him, he had to do a double take before turning around fully while the cashier went to grab his change. “What the hell, Jaeger? Stalking me?” Eren Jaeger and his sister stood behind him, the former looking way too amused by something while the latter didn’t even give him recognition. “Nah, just totally unsurprised that you’re in a girly place like this. Out on a date with your boyfriend?” The other man asked, tilting his head to the side and grinning. Jean stared at Eren, his eyes dull and voice deadpan. “You’re here too, dumbass. I was dragged here with my family. Doesn’t look like you can say the same.”

   Eren narrowed his eyes in this angry-glare face Jean had gotten accustomed to seeing on him and jabbed Jean’s chest, who raised his eyebrows at the action. “I call bullshit on your story. I’m only here because I’m friends with Connie and Sasha.” As soon as the words left his mouth, two cries of ‘that’s me’ came from the girl who had set his change on the counter and the man who was busy filling up Jean’s gallon with ice cream. Jean rolled his eyes at the hot tempered man in front of him and was poised with a witty come back that probably wasn’t witty at all, when a muffled knock interrupted him.

Both he and Eren turned to look at the front window of the shop, specifically, the person who was pushed up against the front window of the shop and had three sketchy looking men in their personal space. Immediately, Jean frowned and was headed to the door, Eren right by his side, though he didn’t quite notice that until the smaller brunette pushed open the door for them. “Hey, what’re you guys doing?” He shouted unceremoniously, his glare turning into a full on scowl when he saw exactly what they were interrupting.

The tree men had trapped a smaller figure in between them and at that moment, the one in the middle was leering closely to their victim, who had their face turned down towards their chest. When Eren shouted, four sets of eyes turned on them. Three of them were annoyed, but when huge blue eyes shining with unshed tears glanced up to stare at Eren in distress, the fighter moved without thinking. The man closest to the door was thrown onto his back in an instant, letting out a loud grunt when he collided with the concrete. Eren didn’t have any interest in him. He was after the one who was blatantly invading the blonde’s space, probably to speak quiet threats to him in the middle of the day, surrounded by passer bys who didn’t give them the time of day.

It had his blood boiling and soon he had the man on the ground as well, pummeling his face with undiscriminating punches. The other two were poised to grab Eren when Jean spoke, or rather yelled out to them. “Hey now, I’d hate to see you not only blatantly frighten and probably threaten an innocent person, but also upset _all these people around us_ by trying to save your buddy.” His words worked out as the people around them stopped to gasp at the scene. Looking around the street while Eren still punched away at one man, the other two suddenly squared up, raising their fists in a way that made Jean quite literally laugh out loud. It took him swinging back into a casual fighting position, with his body weight set low and muscles bulging, for the two sinewy men to realize that they stood no chance against him and, without looking back for their friend, they bolted.

Jean made no move to chase after them and instead grabbed Eren’s shoulders and heaved him off of the third man, who scrambled against the ground several times before stumbling away. Eren was still seething, though Jean couldn’t entirely comprehend why. The men were dirt bags, that was certain, but from what he had seen they hadn’t even touched the victim of their harassment. “Calm your ass down, Jaeger.” He snapped, then looked over at the man who hadn’t moved from his spot the entire time, and for the first time in years, Jean had butterflies in the pit of his stomach.

The man, and he was almost entirely certain that this person _was_ indeed a man, was small in stature. He had delicate, feminine features and was clothed in an oversized, long sleeved t-shirt in a cream color and light blue pants. It wasn’t hard to figure out exactly _why_ he was targeted by the men. Mikasa was next to him, Jean realized, speaking quietly while the man rubbed his tears from his eyes. Then, through his apparent distress, he smiled warmly at Mikasa and Jean was sure he was looking at an angel. He and Eren moved together towards the man and caught the end of what she was saying to him. “…bunch of shitheads. If you want, I’ll go after them.”

Again, the man smiled and let out a watery laugh, shaking his head slightly. “It’s okay, Mikasa, really. Thank you though. I appreciate the offer. What’re you doing here anyway? I thought you didn’t like sweets much.” Before Mikasa could answer, the pair looked up when the other duo’s shadows crossed them. Both Eren and Jean had their eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out the connection between the two. Mikasa seemed to pick up on their looks and rolled her eyes. “I was here with my brother.” She said to Armin, jerking her head towards Eren in indication, then continued to address the other two. “Before you idiots ask, yes I know him, we met at his internship. Armin, this is my brother Eren and his…and Jean. Jean, Eren, this is Armin Arlert.”

The small blonde smiled sheepishly up at them and gave a small wave, then twisted his hands together and looked at his feet, scuffing them against the sidewalk. “I’m really sorry about all of that. Thank you for helping me. People usually don’t.” “What do you mean people usually don’t? This happens to you a lot?” Jean almost glared at Eren when his voice cut through the warmth of Armin’s, but the question was a good one, and he raised his eyebrows along with the other brunette. Armin’s face immediately flushed a bright red and he glanced up to look at the other two men, opening his mouth to say something, but thinking better of it. Instead, he bit his lip and nodded, then shrugged. “I’m feminine and small, so I make a good target for…people like that. They don’t usually do anything though. Just… _say stuff._ Then eventually they leave me alone. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“What the hell? That’s a huge deal, you shouldn’t put up with people treating you like that! No one should be treated like that!” Jean only realized what an intimidating picture they must have painted for the blonde before them when his eyes widened slightly at Eren’s outburst. Eren’s knuckles were still covered with blood, both of them were almost a foot taller than the blonde and they were both covered in scars and tattoos. But rather than run away or flinch back, Armin smiled and laughed nervously, smoothing down his hair. “I know, I carry pepper spray with me now, but there’s not much else I can do about it, so I try not to let it get me down.”

For once, Eren and Jean shared a surprised look at the man’s words. Their gazes hardened and both nodded, coming to a silent decision, then they looked back at Armin and Mikasa, who had remained silent throughout. “What’s your number, Armin?” “We’re going to text you so you have ours, then if anyone bugs you, you can call one of us.” “We’ll make it so you _can_ do something about them.” Said Eren, then Jean and Eren again before both of them pulled out their phones and looked expectantly at the flustered blonde. Armin stuttered out his number, paused and then spoke incredulously. “You don’t even _know_ me? Why would you want to help me?” Jean grinned, throwing his arm over Armin’s shoulder and Eren followed suit, both men leading the smallest of the four inside the shop.

“Yeah, that’s true, but Mikasa knows you and she was speaking to you, so she must like you. Anyone who’s a friend of hers in a friend of mine. That’s how family works.” Eren said, ruffling up the blonde hair, much to Jean’s annoyance, who jabbed the other man in the ribs. “Don’t be fucking weird, Eren, you just met him.” He said with a roll of his eyes, seating all four of them at a small table off to the side. He could practically feel that Connie person glaring at him for having bailed on his order and turned to wave the man off while Eren growled at him about how Armin didn’t mind the friendly treatment. From their bickering rose that light laugh again and both of the men looked over to see Armin giggling quietly at them. “You two really don’t get along, do you? I thought when Mikasa introduced you like that it meant you were together, but didn’t want people to know.”

Immediately, the two fighters were spluttering out their responses, frantically denying anything of the sort between them while Armin continued to laugh and Mikasa cracked a smile. “Not to be rude but, um, would you mind if I go buy a scoop really quick? It’s why I came here.” Armin murmured, looking around the table to be sure that asking to leave wasn’t considered rude among the group. To Jean’s surprise, Eren rose and pulled Armin with him to the register, going off about how he hadn’t gotten any either and was a huge fan of the shop. Jean was sure he was boring holes into the back of the brunette’s head when he saw Armin’s eyes light up at the fact he was friends with the workers. “Careful, Jean. Don’t go falling in love with him too quickly now or you might just end up having to fight Eren for real.” Vaguely, Jean realized this was the first time Mikasa had spoken to him directly and he furrowed his eyebrows.

Without the brunette having to say anything, the woman continued. “I’ve seen how people act around Armin. It’s hard not to like him, he’s too sweet and kind for his own good and people either take advantage of him with it or fall for him, but either way he ends up hurt. So you should stop making googly eyes at a man you don’t know and I’ll make sure Eren realizes his boundaries.” Something about her words made Jean angry and he was almost entirely sure it was the implication she left that he would end up hurting Armin should feelings develop for the blonde. Not only did Jean recognize the fact he had just met the angelic man a few minutes ago, but he was allowed to admire people without it being something completely over the top.

Glaring at Mikasa, he was about to bite out a response when Armin and Eren returned to the table. Mikasa set her hard eyes on how Eren had his arm around Armin’s waist while Jean just rolled his at the woman’s behavior. And here he thought that she was only capable of looking like that when someone was going against Eren. They sat at the table for what must have been an hour, chatting about their lives, though most of the conversation devolved to Eren and Jean bickering over something, until Jean checked the time.

“Shit, sorry, I have to meet my family for dinner in an hour.” He said, standing from his seat. Maybe it was his imagination, but Armin almost looked disappointed. “We have to go as well.” Mikasa said, following Jean’s lead and pulling her brother up from his own chair. The disappointment in Armin’s eyes grew, but he smiled all the same. “It is getting late.” He said, being the final person to stand. With a regretful smile, Jean picked up his delayed order from the counter, hesitated, then wrapped his arm around Armin’s shoulder and squeezed in a makeshift hug. Quickly, he pressed a kiss to the blonde’s head, said his goodbyes while trying not to get distracted by the vivid blush, and exited the store with a fuming Eren and aggravated Mikasa on his heels.

There wasn’t a care in Jean’s world and he had to hold back his giddiness at dinner. Eren was subjected to a night of lectures from Mikasa. But Armin, Armin had never been so enamored with others.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was kinda surprised how easy this chapter came to me considering I really struggle to write domestic AU's because they tend to bore me a little, so that's good. As always, I really appreciate feedback. Like, a lot. Like, it tells me whether or not people are enjoying what I'm writing and as such if I should continue to write said thing or not, so if you have the time please leave me a like or kudos or an ask or a comment, everything helps. I hope you enjoy and have a beautiful day~ ^^

Armin felt like a giddy high school student for the first time in years. He had stayed up late the previous night texting both Eren and Jean until he fell asleep in front of his phone and it was the first thing he checked in the morning as well. On his way to work he giggled to himself, clutching his phone to his chest while both scolded him for not going to sleep earlier and not telling them why he suddenly stopped responding. He did notice that neither brought the other up and whenever he did, they made sure to distinctly ignore that part of the conversation, so he made a mental note to ask Mikasa more about their relationship. It would be helpful to know without making things awkward if he was to see them more often, which he hoped he would.

The small blonde always had a particularly difficult time making friends or finding people who he got along with. He had managed to make friends with Mikasa due to his work and he shared nice conversations with his boss’ daughter, Krista, but aside from them it had been a long time alone for Armin. Glancing down at his phone again, he grinned when twin texts popped up, both wishing him a good day at work and the butterflies he had in his stomach from last night were back.

It was only when a loud horn sounded that he lunged out of the way of a truck that sped by, effectively soaking him through when it went through the large puddle by the curb. Armin cringed and picked at his clothing and the muddy water that distorted the colors. Somewhere in the distance a group of teenagers laughed and pointed towards him, then hooted something about him putting on a wet tee-shirt contest. As always, Armin brushed off the comments and continued on his way, glad he kept his scrubs in his locker at work rather than wearing them there. The clinic was already in full action when he slipped through the door, the waiting room more than halfway full of impatient looking people with their animals either howling in their cages or growling at one another. He quickly shook his head towards Krista at the front desk when she sent a concerned look in his direction over his appearance.

Armin loved his work, he truly did. It was a brilliant internship to get in an esteemed clinic and typically submerging himself in the activities there was how he got past anything negative going on in his life, but that day it seemed that fate was determined to get him down. Not only did it start off with being totally drenched in mud water, but he was cursed out over the phone for informing people they were booked for the day more times than he cared to count, was stuck trying to vaccinate two very displeased cats and to top it off, when an impatient patron loosened her grip on her dog’s leash the lab lunged forward and went straight to the treats in Armin’s hand, successfully biting deep into his flesh as well as the food.   

Which explained why he was sitting miserably in the emergency room he had been in for at least three hours, still in his vet scrubs with his normal clothing wet in a bag next to him and clutching the bandage they had given him to stop the bleeding to his hand tightly. He had been jostled around, coughed on, sneezed on and the receptionist apparently decided to forget to put his name down for the first hour. Krista had called him multiple times to apologize and see how he was doing as well as to offer to come stay with him and Mikasa had texted him with the same. Despite his luck, Armin waited with his eyes closed and his head tipped back, running over every disease he could and their definitions in his head in an attempt to calm himself down. All he wanted was to get back home, warm up and crash on his couch.

It took another hour before his name was finally called and he was able to get his hand stitched up, only to find himself waiting in line in the non-emergency section of the hospital to get a Tetanus booster. He was dozing off with his head resting against a doorframe when someone called his name and he snapped to attention. Smiling brightly at him from behind the counter was a freckled brunette who gestured for him to come up. “Hello! Armin Arlert, correct? You need a booster and then you’ll be good to go. My name’s Marco, I’m a volunteer here at the hospital and will be administering it for you since we’re so busy now. If you could just follow me, please.” The man’s cheery demeanor had Armin matching his smile almost effortlessly as he was led to a small room that he assumed was only used during such busy times. “I didn’t know volunteers were allowed to administer…anything at hospitals. Have you been here long?” Armin asked, holding out his arm for Marco to disinfect.

“Well, I work in part of the hospital as a psychologist in the first place and I’ve been volunteering here ever since I was a little kid because my parents worked here as well, so I’m trusted to do simple things like shots.” Marco spoke as he quickly administered the shot, then pulled out a few boxes of band aids and beamed at Armin. “Normal boring one, Scooby Doo or Hello Kitty?” He asked, waving them in front of the blonde, who grinned and pointed to the Hello Kitty ones. “Great choice.” The freckled man chirped, sticking the pink adhesive to Armin’s arm before taking a step back and clasping his hands together. “And you’re done! Sorry for the wait, if you could just go to the front desk and pay you’re good to go.”

Armin thanked him honestly and did so, smiling as warmly as he could to cheer up the cranky woman receptionist. It was only when he stepped out of the doors that he realized how late it got and remembered that he had promised to go out to dinner with Krista and her wife Ymir earlier when he had been waiting for his stitches in order for her to ‘make up for what had happened’. Arguing with Krista never worked in her opponent’s favor and after knowing her for a year, Armin had given up on trying. Groaning under his breath, he checked the time. Only an hour to get to his house across the city, change, shower and get back in time to meet them. In short, it was an impossible feat and he would have to show up with matted hair and scrubs with smiling cat faces on them to whatever fancy restaurant Krista wanted to go to.  

“Are you alright there, Armin? You’re not feeling lightheaded, are you?” Again Armin was broken from his thoughts by Marco, who had been walking by with his arms full of folders and stopped to look at him with blatant concern. “Oh, no, sorry! I was just thinking is all.” The blonde rushed out, holding up his hands with a shy laugh. “Right, no problem. Do you have someone coming to pick you up? I imagine the doctor told you that driving won’t be plausible for at least a couple days.” Though flattered by his worry, Armin felt like he was trapped with either explaining that he had to walk to the other side of the city in the dark or that he had to go meet friends for dinner looking as disheveled as he did. “I don’t have a car; I walk everywhere, so I’m alright, thank you. Sorry. I was just trying to gather my thoughts; I’m supposed to go to dinner with a few friends in the next hour.”

Marco frowned at that and looked prepared to reply when someone shouted his name from the parking lot and a large body slipped by Armin to embrace the freckled man. Armin planned to use the distraction to make his escape from the conversation, but he paused when he recognized the unique hair style on the man embracing Marco. “Jean?” He murmured the name, tilting his head slightly to the side and when Jean turned his head, eyebrows furrowed Armin smiled and waved his hand meekly. “Hey. I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. You two make a nice looking couple.” He chimed, only to be replied to with Marco clutching his sides when he burst into laughter and Jean shaking his head, spluttering out denial of the statement. “God, no, nothing like that. Marco and I have been friends since we were in diapers. How do you know him? And what are you doing here anyway? I thought you worked in an animal hospital, not this one.” Jean said, running his fingers through his hair as he spoke. Armin giggled and nodded, shrugging his shoulders. “If you say so.  I still think you’d make a nice looking couple. I just had to come here to get some stitches, Marco gave me a shot. I was just heading out now, actually, so I won’t take up your time.”

But before he could turn to leave, he was stopped by a hand clamping down on his forearm. “Hey, wait, whoa, hold on. You’re not taking up my time. Why did you need stitches? Did you fall? Is that why your hair looks like that?” Jean asked seriously, staring down at the smaller blonde who turned completely red when he asked about his hair and reached up with his free hand to tug self consciously at a strand. “Oh, uh, no, a dog bit me at work today and before that a car splashed me on my way by. It’s great to see you again Jean, but I’m supposed to meet some friends soon so I really should get going if I want to try to make it.”

Armin tried to brush off the almost dejected look on Jean’s face, insisting to himself that it was his imagination making the taller man look that way. Reluctantly, Jean dropped Armin’s arm and nodded, taking a step away from him. “Jean, you live close by. Maybe you should let Armin shower at your place so he doesn’t have to walk somewhere.” Marco offered before the two could part ways. Frantically, Armin tried to decline the offer, feeling as though needing help from the other man twice in two days was more than he could ever ask for, but Jean was already nodding his agreement. “You’re right. I can take you to wherever you’re meeting your friends too. It’s dangerous to walk around at night.” Jean said as though that finalized the conversation.

Despite Armin’s attempts at complaining, Jean linked arms with him and steered him through the door. The small blonde missed the way Jean gave a thumb up to Marco and how the freckled man mouthed _‘he’s cute’_ in reply. Jean ushered Armin into his car, apologizing for the mess which, in the smaller man’s opinion, wasn’t a mess at all. It was odd, Armin thought. He would have expected Jean to be the kind of truck driving, messy car, messy apartment, beer drinking man, but when they arrived at Jean’s place, it was spotless as well and Armin was greeted by the cutest terrier he had ever seen, complete with a little pink bow on her head.

“She’s absolutely precious! What’s her name?” Armin asked eagerly, dropping to his knees in Jean’s living room to rub at the hyper dog’s stomach. Jean had the humility to blush and coughed to himself before answering with a mumbled “Kia” and gesturing towards a door. “The shower is in there, you can use anything you need.” Gracious as ever, Armin thanked him and slipped through the door, missing how Jean glared at his dog and hissed a quiet _‘he’s not yours’_ to the animal when she tried to follow Armin into the room. Armin felt like he had an epiphany as soon as he stepped into the bathroom. Though there weren’t two toothbrushes, there was a girly razor and citrus shaving cream in the shower along with matching strawberry shampoo and conditioner on one of the item racks and different ‘male’ products on the other.

If Jean had a girlfriend, it would account for how clean everything was and his reaction to Armin asking if he was with Marco. But Armin didn’t even know him, so he had no excuse for the plummeting feeling of disappointment in his stomach. Jean was nice and undeniably attractive. Armin wasn’t aware he found piercings or tattoos or even his scars to be desirable until he saw the tall man and Eren. Sighing, he cleaned himself as quickly as possible, hoping Jean’s girlfriend wouldn’t mind him using her shampoo or conditioner as he had to admit it smelled fantastic. He wrapped himself in a towel and debated on putting his scrubs back on but, after hesitating, poked his head out of the door to find Jean watching some show in his couch.

“Um, Jean? Would you mind handing me that plastic bag I had?” Jean raised his eyebrows and looked over at Armin, who was slightly embarrassed that he was covering himself like a girl would, then shook his head. “Sorry, I looked to see what it was and your clothing was still soaking wet so I threw them in the wash, I hope you don’t mind. I just didn’t think you would want it all to stain. But, if uh, if it’s not too presumptuous I might have some clothing that would work for you. It’s just that, uh, it’s girls clothing.” Both were red faced when Jean stopped talking and the taller man hesitated before attempting to apologize, only to be stopped by Armin’s reassurance.

“No, no, I don’t mind that. Most of what I wear is made for women, but uh, I don’t think your girlfriend would be happy with me using her shampoo _and_ wearing her clothing.” Armin said quickly, laughing and rubbing at the back of his neck as he spoke. Jean blinked several times, his eyebrows furrowed in an intense look of confusion and concentration before he met Armin’s shy gaze. “Armin…I don’t have a girlfriend. That was all my sister’s stuff, so is the clothing. She moved out a week ago but left a bunch of her crap that I haven’t gotten around to sending back or throwing out. Its fine, I promise, c’mon let’s go find you something.” Jean said with a deep chuckle, standing and gesturing for the small blonde to follow him as he moved into a different room.

Embarrassed, Armin ducked his head and followed after Jean, pausing to pick up Kia who had been scratching at his legs in an attempt to get his attention. “So are you uh…y’know…” Jean trailed off when Armin entered the room, looking at him for help as he tried to get his words out without offending the other man. Armin just smiled and shook his head, stepping forward to look through what was left in the room. “Transgendered or a drag queen? No. I just…like dressing in women’s clothing. I always have. I feel more like myself in it, but I don’t see myself as a woman, I’m very much still a man. Just a man who wears cute clothing.” Armin offered, running his fingers over the fabric of a dress that caught his eye before he looked bashfully back at Jean. “I, uh, I don’t usually wear dresses out because I don’t want to _trick_ anyone, you know? Only if I’m going somewhere with a big group or that’s dressy. Other than that I try to stick with sweaters.”

Jean couldn’t keep the smile off of his face while he watched Armin flit through the clothing with Kia still in his arms, making a mental note of how his eyes still returned to the same dress. “Well what if you just put that” Jean pointed towards a cream sweater, “over the dress. That’s like…a happy medium, right? Because my sister didn’t leave any skirts. I know nothing about fashion; hit me if that’s a terrible idea.” But Armin had pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking thrilled at the idea. “Would that really be okay?” He asked, setting Kia down and clutching the towel tighter around him. Jean found himself grinning and nodding and actually _wanting_ to see Armin all dressed up, or maybe it was just how happy he looked at the prospect.

The tall man made a move to leave the room so Armin could change, but Armin stopped him. “Um, if you want, do you want to go with me? You didn’t have to do any of this and I really appreciate it, so you should let me treat you.” There was no way in hell Jean could say no to the puppy dog eyes Armin was giving him, so he chuckled and nodded, rubbing at the back of his neck. “If you want me to go with you then sure, I’d be happy to. I should go change in that case.” Jean said, and then looked down at Kia who was settled on Armin’s bare feet. “I own you. Are you coming with me?” The dog only wagged her tail and walked to sit behind Armin instead, making the brunette scoff and the blonde giggle.

Shaking his head, Jean hissed a quiet _‘traitor’_ to her while Armin once again pet the terrier’s stomach before leaving the room. He was almost embarrassed at how long it took him to get ready as he tried on shirt after shirt, wanting to look at his best for what he had to continuously remind himself was not an informal date. By the time he exited his room, he found Armin sitting on the couch, dressed in exactly what Jean had picked out and to top it off, he had put his hair in a bun with a braid running along the side of his head. Before Armin, Jean would never have called another man _pretty,_ but he was. The light blue material of the dress brushed against his legs that Jean swore to himself had to be hairless and the sweater hung slightly off of one of the blonde’s shoulders, giving him a glimpse of the creamy skin beneath. Armin’s eyes flicked up when he heard Jean enter and he grinned, standing and clasping his arms in front of him. “You look great, Jean. Are you ready to go?” Armin asked, scuffing his feet against the floor while he squirmed slightly under Jean’s intense gaze.

Breaking himself from his thoughts on how unfairly good Armin looked with his hair like that, Jean mutely nodded, then cleared his throat and spoke. “Yeah, thanks, I’m ready. You look incredible. Do you do that with your hair a lot?” Jean asked while he led Armin out of his complex and to his car again. The blonde blushed and reached up to touch his hair gingerly and shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Not normally, but I thought it might look nice.” He murmured, brushing his fringe from his eyes. “Well you were right. You look really good.” Armin turned even darker red at the continuous compliments and settled himself into the passenger seat. He had already texted Krista to tell her he was bringing a plus one and of course, she was perfectly fine with it.

The ride to the restaurant was comfortable and spent mostly laughing over stories of Jean’s hectic family get together the previous night that Armin hadn’t had time to get the full details of over text messages. By the time they stood at the entrance, Armin had linked his arm with Jean’s and the taller man noticed he didn’t bother correcting anyone who referred to him as miss or ma’am. The happy atmosphere between the two was broken, however, when Armin pointed out their table and seated next to who he presumed was Krista, were none other than Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman. Jean stopped to groan quietly and roll his head back while Armin snickered at his response, nudging the taller man with his hip.

“C’mon Jean, we’re blocking the hall.” He said softly, tugging the fighter behind him as he moved towards the table. The small girl next to Eren who looked scarily similar to Armin the closer Jean got immediately jumped from her seat and threw her arms around Armin, babbling apologies and insisting on looking at his bandaged hand. “Krista, calm down, it doesn’t even hurt. Besides, I need to introduce you to Jean.” Armin said, gesturing to Jean who quickly grew uncomfortable under Krista’s scrutinizing gaze. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jean said after clearing his throat and offering his hand to the tiny girl.

Krista was silent for a moment, then accepted his hand in a shake and gave Armin a pointed glance, who rolled his eyes in response and sat across from Eren at the table, next to a silent and terrifying looking woman. “Ymir, this is Jean. Jean, this is Ymir, Krista’s wife. Please don’t take what she says to heart.” Armin said, pulling Jean down into the other chair next to him. For some reason, Ymir glared at him and from across the table, he could feel Mikasa and Eren doing the same, though Mikasa had been quietly scolding Eren before he and Armin sat down, Jean realized. “Pleasure.” He said with a nod, purposefully ignoring the looks from half of the table. If he had thought it would be miserable just going to a nice restaurant before, he had severely underestimated his luck. Or maybe it was Armin’s luck that had him stuck with three people who looked ready to strangle him. Jean let out a deep breath and Armin squeezed his arm. It was going to be a night to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious question here: Is there a specific term for someone who dresses in another gender's clothing but doesn't see themselves as that gender or as gender fluid or anything? If there is I'd really appreciate if someone could let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I should just note something very quickly, which is when I write I try to include as little fluff or filler as possible and focus on things that are going to play a role/that matter. Ex - Jean's dog and family, going to matter later. Ex - the fact I described what Armin was wearing but not what anyone else was, because it played a role. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and just to reiterate, if you have a moment please leave me some feedback, it's very appreciated.


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